Nute Gunray (Downfall Universe)
Nute Gunray was a Neimoidian male who served as the Viceroy of the Trade Federation and a high-ranking member of the Separatist Confederacy of Independent Systems. Gunray led the Trade Federation through its invasion of the planet Naboo, at the behest of the Sith Lord Darth Sidious—who was secretly Sheev Palpatine, the Senator of Naboo, and who had engineered the conflict to be elected Supreme Chancellor. The Federation invasion was repelled and Gunray was arrested, but he avoided prison after four trials in the Supreme Court. Ten years later, Gunray had become a member of the Separatist Alliance, pledging Federation military support for the impending war against the Galactic Republic. After the outbreak of the Clone Wars, Gunray was an influential member of the Separatist leadership, and attempted to bring worlds such as Rodia into the Separatist cause. By the end of the war, which had been manipulated by Darth Sidious from both sides, the Separatists were in disarray following the deaths of their political leader, the Sith Lord Count Dooku and cyborg General Grievous. The surviving Separatist leaders sought protection on Mustafar, where they and Gunray evacuated amongst the CIS militaries and resources into the Milky Way Galaxy through the Black Hole. Nute Gunray, has by far remained on Earth, during the Second Clone Wars, all the way up to the Separatist Imperial War, where he alongside the Separatist council, would eventually arrive back in their old home galaxy in order to witness Project Prosperous in action, during the mission to Shield World 182 in 2 BBY. He along side the rest of the Separatist Council, and military were nearly destroyed, when a new species assaulted both factions on World 182, resulting into a fight for survival. Even after the Empire's withdraw from World 182, Nute Gunray, the rest of the council, and the military, remained on the planet in order to try and stop the Alien menace from spreading off world, and were able to succeed, despite the odds being against them. ''Bio 'Naboo Crisis' Nute Gunray was serving as Viceroy of the Trade Federation during the Naboo Crisis, and Invasion of Earth Era, which occurred during that same year. The Crisis had arisen as a result of a dispute between the Trade Federation and the Galactic Republic relating to the taxation of trade routes to outlying systems, while in secrecy the Trade Federation had already created a new line of routes between the Star Wars Galaxy and the Milky Way Galaxy, after the Trade Federation would land on Earth. At the instigation of the Sith Lord Darth Sidious—secretly Naboo Senator Palpatine—the Trade Federation decided to force a resolution to the dispute by blockading the planet Naboo with a fleet of modified battleships, cutting off all shipping to the planet. Gunray commanded the blockade itself from his flagship Saak'ak, a Droid Control Ship, during this particular event, Nute Gunray, gave a second Viceroy who was a base commander on the Karna Maury, and future governor for Earth when conquered, order to enter the black hole and Invade the Solar System with a fleet of 15 vessels, that would later begin the Invasion of Earth in the Milky Way Galaxy. In response to the Naboo Crisis, Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum dispatched two Jedi, the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the dispute. Viceroy Gunray allowed the Jedi emissaries to land their ship Radiant VII in the Saak'ak's hangar bay. After learning that the emissaries were Jedi, Gunray and the ship's captain Daultay Dofine panicked and contacted Darth Sidious via Hologram. Sidious ordered Gunray to kill the two Jedi and to invade the planet Naboo, claiming that he would "make the invasion legal" in the Galactic Senate. Under Gunray's orders, the emissary's ship Radiant VII was destroyed and poison gas was released into the reception room hosting the two Jedi. Gunray also dispatched a squad of Security Battle Droids to finish off the Jedi. However, the two Jedi managed to survive the poisoning and quickly dispatched the battle droids. Shortly later, Gunray was contacted by the Naboo Queen Padmé Amidala, who refused to sign a treaty with the Trade Federation. The two Jedi emissaries then attempted to breach the Saak'ak's command bridge but were driven away by droidekas. Despite the threat posed by the Jedi, Gunray still proceeded with the invasion. However, he ordered his battle droid commanders to be on the lookout for the two Jedi. C-9979 landing craft were used to land the Trade Federation's droid army on Naboo, which then proceeded to occupy the capital Theed and other major centers. The Trade Federation's droid army succeeded in occupying Naboo with little resistance and managed to capture Queen Amidala and her entourage. Following the occupation of Theed, Gunray visited the captured Queen herself and reiterated his demand that she sign a treaty with the Federation. When she refused, he ordered his battle droids to send her to Camp Four. Gunray suffered a setback when the two Jedi and a local Gungan guide named Jar Jar Binks managed to free the Queen and her entourage, and escape offworld. Meanwhile, Viceroy Gunray and his lieutenant Rune Haako presided over the occupation of Naboo from the Theed Royal Palace. Under his orders, Naboo's population were forced into slave camps where they experienced starvation and hardship. In Amidala's absence, Gunray attempted to force Governor Sio Bibble to sign the treaty with the Trade Federation but the Governor refused to back down. In the Galactic Senate on Coruscant, the Trade Federation's Senator Lott Dod managed to block Queen Amidala and Senator Palpatine's efforts to request Republic intervention in Naboo. However, Queen Amidala, at the instigation of Palpatine, managed to outmanoeuvre the Trade Federation by calling for a vote of no confidence against Chancellor Valorum. As the occupation deepened, Viceroy Gunray ordered the droid army to move against the Gungans, Naboo's amphibious indigenous civilization, who lived in underwater bubble cities like Otoh Gunga. Facing little resistance, the Trade Federation removed most of their fleet from Naboo with the exception of the Droid Control Ship Saak'ak. The diminished Trade Federation naval presence enabled Queen Amidala, her entourage, her Jedi allies, and Binks to land their starship on Naboo. Queen Amidala managed to rally the Naboo resistance and to forge an alliance with the Gungan leader Boss Rugor Nass. Seeking to drive out the Trade Federation, Amidala devised a three-pronged battle plan which involved the Gungan Grand Army marching on Theed to draw away the droid army. Meanwhile, Naboo forces under Amidala and her Jedi allies would infiltrate Theed and capture the Viceroy. Naboo forces would also capture the hangar bay at the royal palace and use their N-1 starfighters to destroy the Droid Control Ship, incapacitating the droid army. In response to this renewed threat from Amidala and the Jedi, Darth Sidious dispatched his Sith apprentice Darth Maul to reinforce Viceroy Gunray. After receiving reports that the Gungan Grand Army was marshaling outside Theed, Darth Sidious ordered Viceroy Gunray and Haako to send the droid army to wipe out the Gungan forces. During the Battle of Naboo, Gunray commanded the Trade Federation's forces from the safety of the Theed Royal Palace. With the bulk of the droid army preoccupied with the Gungans, Queen Amidala and her Jedi allies were able to infiltrate the Royal Palace and secure the N-1 starfighters, which proceeded to launch a starfighter strike on the Saak'ak. While Master Qui-Gon and his Padawan Kenobi took on Darth Maul in a lightsaber duel, Queen Amidala's forces fought their way through the Royal Palace. Gunray's droidekas managed to capture Queen Amidala and some her party and brought them into the throne room, where Gunray reiterated his demand that she sign a treaty with the Trade Federation. However, the Queen's disguised handmaiden arrived in the throne room with reinforcements, confusing Gunray and his battle droid bodyguards. The Naboo managed to disable Gunray's bodyguards and take the Viceroy and his lieutenant captive. Meanwhile in space, Anakin Skywalker destroyed the Droid Control Ship with a missile fired from his starfighter. This effectively disable the entire Federation droid army; turning the tide of the battle decisively in favor of the Naboo and their Gungan allies. Meanwhile, Kenobi managed to seemingly kill Darth Maul but lost his Master Qui-Gon, who succumbed to injuries inflicted by Darth Maul. With the defeat of the Federation's droid army, Viceroy Gunray and Rune Haakao surrendered to the Naboo. They were then transported to Coruscant to face trial for their crimes on Naboo. 'The Clone Wars' Despite being subjected to four trials in the Galactic Republic's Supreme Court, Viceroy Gunray escaped imprisonment and remained leader of the Trade Federation, where it was later discovered by him that, the Trade Federation despite losing on Naboo, were able to become Victorious on Earth 1 year later in 31 BBY (1992 in Earth Years), this effect would allow Viceroy to continue his plans for the future of Earth, as he would constantly contact the Viceroy who ran the Earth Occupation in order to give orders and supplies, but 6 years later by 24 BBY (1998 in Earth Years), Gunray would lose contact of the Viceroy, where he would eventually learn of the Karna Muary's destruction, and the weakening of the Federation's hold on Earth in a galaxy far far away. This would temporarily force Nute Gunray to maintain command of not only the Trade Federation forces in his own galaxy, but also the weakened Federation forces in the Milky Way Galaxy as well, he was able to relay orders and commands to the Federation forces on Earth through messenger ships, as the Viceroy himself never set foot on the soils of Earth. Despite these setbacks with the crumbling Earth Occupation, Nute Gunray and the Trade Federation joined the growing Secessionist Movement under the leadership of the charismatic Count Dooku; a former Jedi who had become Darth Tyranus, Darth Sidious' new Sith apprentice. The Secessionist Movement was a confederation of a thousand star systems and corporations that were dissatisfied with the rampant taxation and excessive corruption within the Galactic Republic. This movement later developed into the Confederacy of Independent Systems by 24 BBY. Despite joining the Confederacy of Independent Systems in 22 BBY, Nute Gunray gave an immediate proposal to the CIS council where he would mention Earth, and how his forces were now on the verge of losing control of the planet completely, and that a small force would have to be dispatched in order to restore order to the planet. It would be from this particular conference, that a small fleet of about 14 vessels would head over to Earth and rush the planet completely, ending the counter attack conducted by the humans of Earth, and saving the remaining Federation stronghold on the planet. As gratitude for aiding the Federation on Earth, Nute Gunray agreed to join the Separatists in return for one concession: that his old adversary Amidala, now a Senator in the Galactic Senate, be killed as revenge for his capture during the Naboo Crisis, however in response for sending forces through the black hole and into a galaxy far far away, Count Dooku would agree to Nute Gunray's proposal, if he granted control of Earth to the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Nute Gunray agreed and Count Dooku arranged for the bounty hunters Jango Fett and Zam Wesell to assassinate the Senator. The bounty hunters launched two unsuccessful attempts which only drew the Jedi Order's attention to the existence of a clone army being created on the planet Kamino. While pursuing Jango Fett Obi-Wan Kenobi, now a Jedi Knight, discovered that a droid army was being constructed for the Separatists on the desert planet Geonosis. On Geonosis, Viceroy Gunray, Rune Haako, and the leaders of several powerful commerce guilds attended a secret meeting with Count Dooku where they pledged their support for the Separatist Movement. With their new droid army, the Separatists hoped they could mount a successful challenge against the Republic and their Jedi defenders. Shortly later, Kenobi along with Senator Amidala and Anakin Skywalker were captured by Geonosian security forces following a skirmish in the Geonosian droid factory. After Amidala and her companions were sentenced to death and forced to fight in the Petranaki arena, a delighted Gunray attended the proceedings, accompanied by Haako, Count Dooku, the Geonosian leader Poggle the Lesser, Jango Fett, and his son Boba Fett. Gunray's hopes for revenge against Senator Amidala were dashed when the Senator and her Jedi allies managed to fight off the arena creatures—a nexu, a reek, and an acklay—and the Geonosian guards. Gunray and his Separatist allies suffered another blow when Jedi and Clone trooper forces under Masters Mace Windu and Yoda attacked the Petranaki arena. During the ensuing Battle of Geonosis, Viceroy Gunray and his Separatist allies oversaw the battle from a secure bunker. The Separatist deployed their Droid Army which proved inferior to the Republic's Clone troopers. With the battle turning in favor of the Grand Army of the Republic and their Jedi commanders, Gunray and the other Separatist leaders fled Geonosis. This battle marked the spark of the Clone Wars, a galactic-wide conflict between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. 'Capture on Rodia' Following the Battle of Geonosis, Nute Gunray turned his attention to the Mid Rim world of Rodia. The planet had been attacked by pirates and Rodia's Senator Onaconda Farr had appealed to Viceroy Gunray for help. The Viceroy agreed to send relief supplies to Rodia in return for one small favor: kidnapping his long-time foe Senator Amidala. Farr was a close friend of the Naboo Senator and called her to Rodia under the pretext of seeking aid from the Republic for the Rodian people. Senator Amidala was escorted by her long-time friend Representative Jar Jar Binks and the protocol droid C-3PO. Upon arriving, Senator Amidala and C-3PO were captured. After learning of her capture, Gunray ordered that she be manacled as a precaution before he traveled to Rodia to meet her. However, Gunray's plans encountered an unexpected obstacle in the form of Binks, who managed to elude the Viceroy's battle droids and trick them into believing that he was a Jedi. In the midst of the commotion, Amidala and C-3PO managed to escape and contact the Republic for assistance before they were recaptured by Gunray's battle droids. After arriving on Rodia, Gunray applied pressure on Senator Farr by withholding relief supplies until Senator Amidala was executed. When Senator Farr protested, Gunray responded that the planet was now under his protection. After Gunray's droid forces had recaptured Senator Amidala and C-3PO, he assembled a trio of droidekas to execute them. Before Gunray could carry out the sentence, Binks and a Kwazel Maw monster that he had befriended named "Bogey" burst out from the swamp and overwhelmed the droidekas. The Viceroy attempted to flee aboard his Sheathipede-class transport shuttle but "Bogie" knocked it into the swamp. He was then held by Senator Amidala at gunpoint. Shortly later, Senator Farr arrived and revealed that he and Senator Amidala had planned to trap Gunray all along. Shortly later, Republic forces arrived and took Gunray into custody. 'Escaping the Republic' Following the events on Rodia, the captive Viceroy Gunray was transferred aboard the Venator-class Star Destroyer Tranquility for trial on Coruscant. Due to his high status in the Confederacy, the Jedi Council dispatched the Jedi Master Luminara Unduli and Anakin's Padawan Ahsoka Tano to guard Gunray. The two Jedi were reinforced by a squad of Senate Guards led by Captain Faro Argyus and a squad of Clone troopers led by Commander Gree. In response to Gunray's capture, Darth Sidious and his apprentice Count Dooku dispatched the Dathomirian dark side assassin Asajj Ventress to infiltrate the Tranquility and rescue the Trade Federation Viceroy. While in captivity, Gunray was interrogated by Unduli and Tano but refused to cooperate. When a frustrated Tano threatened the Viceroy, Master Unduli chastised the younger Jedi. Their interrogation was interrupted by the arrival of Separatist attack force consisting of Vulture droids and three Separatist boarding ships. While Separatist droids boarded the Tranquility, Ventress took advantage of the chaos to sabotage the ship's power generators. After Unduli departed with several Clone troopers to fight the intruders, Ventress managed to overpower Ahsoka and free Gunray. Before Gunray could escape with the dark side warrior, Master Luminara returned to the cell and fought with Ventress in the ship's elevator shaft and generator room. While Luminara was dueling with Ventress, Gunray was locked in his cell with Tano and Captain Argyus standing guard. Unknown to the Republic and Jedi, Argyus was a traitor who was secretly working for Count Dooku. When Ahsoka departed the brig to help Luminara, Argyus took the opportunity to overpower his fellow commandos and free Gunray. Commander Gree managed to overpower Argyus but was knocked in the head by Gunray. The Viceroy and his rescuer then escaped on a Republic ship in the lower hangar and were joined by Ventress, who had escaped her Jedi foes in an escape pod. Gunray was present when Ventress killed Argyus by impaling him through the chest with her lightsaber. 'Assisting General Grievous' Following his escape, Nute Gunray assisted Count Dooku to lure Jedi Master Kit Fisto, and Jedi Knight Nahdar Vebb, and several Clone troopers into a trap at General Grievous's fortress on Vassek. Count Dooku wanted General Grievous to prove his worth to the Separatist cause by killing the intruders. As part of the plot, a hologram of Gunray was used to taunt his Jedi and Republic pursuers. Shortly later, the Jedi and Clone troopers were attacked by Grievous. Nahdar Vebb and all the Republic clones present on the mission, with the exception of Fisto, were killed. 'Working with Cad Bane' Under Darth Sidious' orders, Viceroy Gunray dispatched several Trade Federation Munificent-class star frigates to assist the Separatist bounty hunter Cad Bane on the planet Devaron. Bane had stolen a Jedi Kyber memory crystal, which contained information of value to Sidious, and kidnapped the Jedi Master Bolla Ropal. Despite Bane's successes, Gunray was furious to learn that Bane had lost four Munificent frigates to Republic forces during the Battle of Devaron. When the Neimoidian demanded compensation, Bane promised that Darth Sidious would compensate the Viceroy once the crystal had been opened. After Bane killed Ropal for refusing to open the crystal, the bounty hunter managed to kidnap Anakin's apprentice Ahsoka Tano during a skirmish aboard his Munificent frigate. Taking Ahsoka hostage, Bane was able to force Anakin to open the memory crystal. After extracting the desired information from the memory crystal, Bane escaped and reported his success to Gunray, who offered to send him a rescue ship if he disclosed the data from the crystal. However, Bane refused and insisted on sending the information directly to Darth Sidious. Bane escaped into space as the last ship in Gunray's fleet was destroyed. 'Monamar Crisis' 'Last Days of the Clone Wars' Following the death of Count Dooku and the defeat of the Separatist fleet during the Battle of Coruscant, Nute Gunray and the other leaders of the Separatist Council met with General Grievous on the planet Utapau. With the Republic closing in on the Separatist leadership, Grievous informed the Council that he was transferring them to the volcanic planet of Mustafar for their safety, as it was later granted by the Grievous himself, that the time for the great Evacuation was at hand, and that Nute Gunray and the rest of the council were going to remain on Mustafar until the Separatist forces on Earth could crush the last of the final Earth resistance at Wreath city. Gunray responded by questioning the cyborg General's ability to protect them, citing Grievous' failure to capture Supreme Chancellor Palpatine on Coruscant, but claimed that transferring to the new galaxy was actually a strategy and goal that he had came up with himself since the Naboo Crisis. In the light of Dooku's death, Gunray doubted the General's ability to protect him and the other Separatist leaders, and even demanded a fleet that would bring them to the black hole at that very moment, but Grievous denied, stating that conducting such an operation with the Republic fleet closing in on multiple sectors, would lead the Republic straight to the black hole, and right into their future new galaxy. Angered by Gunray's complaints, and foolish ideas on departing for the Milky Way galaxy so soon, Grievous remarked that the Viceroy should be thankful not to find himself in his grip before dismissing the Council, telling them that their ship was waiting. 'Post the Clone Wars' 'Second Clone Wars' 'Assassination attempt of 2003' 'Over watching the launching of Kessid' 'Return to Star Wars Galaxy and End of War' 'Galactic Ceasefire Era' 'Conducting Political Aspects on Earth' 'First Earth Rebellion' 'Colonial Expansions' 'Return to Star Wars Galaxy' 'Peace Talks with the Empire' 'Funding the IA-Battledroid Project' 'New Political problems' 'Second Peace Talks with the Empire' 'Thule Crisis' 'Separatist Imperial War' 'Separatist Federal War' Personality & Traits Gunray was pessimistic, intolerant, highly concerned for his own welfare, and often trying to shift blame onto others. He was openly fearful of Sidious and the Sith in general. Despite this, he almost always played into their hands. He had no qualms about exploiting innocent people for the love of money—rather, he encouraged it. He grew increasingly impatient over the years, often sacrificing tact for speed. His personality grated against General Grievous, who, unlike Gunray, was a vicious, strategically-minded brave general with a sense of authority. Gunray, in turn, despised Grievous, and believed the General to be unstable and arrogant. Gunray was skilled in the political arena, often discouraging an opponent with a series of baseless, condescending assurances. These skills carried over to his role as Federation Viceroy, where he was constantly in the position of having to pacify an employee, client or opponent. Gunray was also a highly successful businessman, his talents in this field catching the attention of Darth Sidious. Although frequently perceived as a coward, Gunray was willing to get his own hands dirty if he was threatened, and delighted in exacting revenge upon those he felt had wronged him in some way; this was especially true in the case of his unhealthy obsession with killing Padmé Amidala. While often perceived as villainous, Gunray was not any different from his Neimoidian peers, whose culture was entirely devoid of the notion of morality that motivated other species. However, he is shown to be at least pragmatic enough to realize if he broke the law, he would suffer for it, as evidenced by his skepticism towards Darth Sidious's order that he have the Trade Federation invade Naboo due to the likelihood of such an action being illegal. Trivia'' Category:Males Category:Confederacy of Independent Systems Category:Trade Federation Category:Viceroys Category:Neimoidians Category:Trade Federation Personnel